A Whangarei school teacher dismissed for speaking out against what he called discriminatory comments by his catholic school principal is a keynote speaker at a national marriage equality conference.

A man has been arrested after allegedly firing a high-powered air rifle at passing vehicles on an isolated Whangarei road, with one car carrying a pregnant woman.

Northland's grim road toll continues after a woman was killed when a logging truck, trying to avoid another vehicle, rolled and crushed the car she was a passenger in.

A Whangarei man who led police on a high speed chase has found himself back in prison after he was also caught driving while over the legal alcohol limit.

Plans by the Northland DHB to privately fund an extension to Whangarei Hospital will only lead to taxpayers footing the bill if the deal sours, says Labour.

A Northland headmaster has written to John Key about his concerns over banning drug sniffer dogs from schools, saying it is "short-sighted nonsense".

A Whangarei man bashed his former partner unconscious and raped her during a drinking session because he was jealous of others in her life, a jury has heard.

A 17-year-old was "almost disembowelled'' when he was knifed by another teenager at a party in Whangarei yesterday, police say.

The mother of a young woman found dead near a Whangarei bridge says the family have been overwhelmed by support and compassion.

Inadequate training of crew in the use of navigation systems was one of several factors that grounded a navy barge in Whangarei on Waitangi Day, an inquiry finds.

Items used to manufacture methamphetamine were found inside a rubbish bin kept in a wardrobe in a home where two children were living, a court has been told.

Firefighters working to rescue a teen who had a motorcycle gear lever embedded in his leg had to erect a wall of sand as they tried to cut him free.

A transgender woman who struck a man over the head with a bottle of sparkling wine has pleaded with a judge not to send her to a men's prison.

Switched on Gardener staff sold a full hydroponic set-up to undercover cops and discussed how to grow marijuana, a court has been told.

A coroner has ruled on the true identity of the cat handler mauled to death by a tiger at a Whangarei wildlife park in 2009.

It took up to 10 shots from a shotgun and rifle to kill a tiger that fatally attacked a handler at Whangarei's Zion Wildlife Park, a coroner's hearing has heard.

An undercover police officer bought marijuana seedlings from a Switched on Gardner employee inside the company's Tauranga shop, a court has been told.